Bruce Taylor posted the following great information to the Konvas Discussion List on Thursday the 26th of February, 2009 at 15:49:58 (EST):

Hi gang and especially Kinor users,

I have a story to share about my Kinor 35H that I hope may save someone thousands of dollars in repairs.

I shipped a Kinor 35H camera body to Bernie at Super16 in NY from my shop in CA via FedEx Ground for routine service. I double boxed it, with a minimum of 1.5" of foam around the camera and the second box. It arrived at Bernie's place with a smashed mirror. The mirror shards were happily shaking themselves into every nook and cranny of the interior of the camera as they bounced in the FedEx truck to Bernie's place.

In speaking to Bernie and Bruce McNaughton (of Aranda Film where I bought a replacement mirror), it seems that while these mirror shatterings are not common, they are far from unheard of. As the entire movement in the Kinor is suspended on rubber mountings there is some movement possible, and in some mirror positions there can be enough movement for the mirror to hit the camera housing and smash it.

So here's the tip (thanks to Bernie!):

When shipping, always position the mirror in a vertical orientation with the reflective surface in the viewing (reflex) position.

Kinor 35H

Hopefully, this will save someone some heartache.

Fortunately I had placed a large insurance binder through FedEx on the package. After a couple of weeks of wrangling, inspections, etc, they told me today the check has been sent. I'm glad I bought the FedEx coverage, because my regular insurance deductible is $2500, and the repair was about $3000. Something else to think about when shipping gear.

While I'm on the subject, if 20-120mm Lomo OPF18 users don't already know it, many a OPF18 owner has shipped one and had it smashed internally when the internal zoom elements smash into the front stationary element. Place a piece of tape on the zoom barrel securing it in the middle of its travel, keeping it safe from unwanted movement. (This information has been posted here)